The Coalition had argued the 74,000 hectares were degraded by previous logging and should be unlocked for the timber industry.

But opponents to the move said only 8.6 per cent of the forests had been disturbed, with the rest being pristine old-growth rainforest.

Speaking from Doha, delegates from Portugal said "accepting this delisting would set an unacceptable precedent".

Wilderness Society campaign manager Vica Bayley said the decision showed the world was behind preserving the forest.

"Over here in Doha, environmentalists and Aboriginal Tasmanians are together welcoming this decision because it does protect the integrity of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area and it would protect that in perpetuity," he said.

Prime Minister, State Government disappointed with decision

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Government would study the UN's decision before deciding on its next move, but was disappointed in the development.

"The application that we made to remove from the boundaries of the World Heritage listing - areas of degraded forest, areas of plantation timber - we thought was self-evidently sensible," he said.

"More importantly though, we have a plan for Tasmania's forest industry that we are seeking to implement."

Liberal Senator Richard Colbeck, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Agriculture and one of the major proponents of delisting the forests, also said the ruling would hurt Tasmania's struggling timber industry.

"We know, in particular, that the special species users in Tasmania will have a much diminished resource," he said.

"They are the top-end value adders of the forest industry we are talking about the wooden boat builders, the craft workers and the furniture makers, they are the first ones impacted by this decision."

The leader of Australia's greens group delegation, Alec Marr, said Senator Colbeck should resign and take responsibility for the Government's failed bid.

"The decision by the Committee to deny World Heritage delisting of these pristine forests has shown reason in the face of ideological spin," he said.

Environmentalists celebrate as 'full-frontal attack' repulsed

"Thankfully the world community doesn't believe political point scoring is a legitimate reason to abandon a globally significant area and to destroy the outstanding universal values for which it is famous," she said.

"They have upheld the integrity of the World Heritage convention against a full-frontal attack from the Abbott Government," he said.

"Importantly for us in Tassie some remarkable areas of old growth forest that were trying to be opened up for logging remain protected as World Heritage wilderness areas... which is a fantastic outcome."

Speaking from Doha, Dr Pullinger said Australia had caused itself a lot of damage by the stands it was taking at the meeting.

"They tried to use some pretty strong tactics around the Great Barrier Reef and the World Heritage Committee basically put the Government on notice... that they will be looking at endangered listing for the reef if the Government does not clean up its act.

"On Tasmania's forests they were pretty clear that it was a poor proposal, that it could send a very bad precedent for the World Heritage Convention, and they unambiguously rejected it."

Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Secretary Ruth Langford said the decision was also a win for Tasmanian Aborigines.

"This county not only holds magnificent forest, which provides medicine and good spirits for us, it is also the resting place for ancestors," she said.